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Some Views on the Supernatural
| "One man's "magic" is another man's engineering. 'Supernatural' is a null word." Robert A. Heinlein, American science-fiction writer. |
"Humanism is optimistic regarding human nature and confident in human reason and science as the best means of reaching the goal of human fulfillment in this world. Humanists affirm that humans are a product of the same evolutionary process that produced all other living organisms and that all ideas, knowledge, values, and social systems are based upon human experience. Humanists conclude that creative ability and personal responsibility are strongest when the mind is free from supernatural belief and operates in an atmosphere of freedom and democracy." Free Mind, American Humanist Association |
"Any attempt at understanding humanity must include an explanation of the hold that supernatural belief continues to have on most of the human race." Physics and Psychics, Vic Stenger |
"We hear with surprise of the savage who, falling down a precipice, ascribes the failure of his foothold to a malicious demon; and we smile at the kindred notion of the ancient Greek, that his death was prevented by a goddess who unfastened for him the thong of the helmet by which his enemy was dragging him. But daily, without surprise, we hear of men who describe themselves as saved from shipwreck by 'divine interposition'…and the Christian priest who says prayers over a sick man in the expectation that the course of the disease will be stayed, differ only in the respect of the agent from whom they expect supernatural aid." 2000 Years of Disbelief, ed. James A. Haught, quote from First Principles by Herbert Spencer |
Florida resident Diana Duyser discovered the image of the Virgin Mary on a grilled cheese sandwich after she'd taken a bite from the sandwich. For 10 years, she kept the partially eaten Holy Sandwich in a clear plastic box on her night stand. In 2004, she sold it on eBay to GoldenPalace.com, an Internet casino, for $28,000. http://www.mrbreakfast.com/article.asp?articleid=23 |
"The argument from design stands or falls on whether it can be demonstrated that some aspect of the universe such as its origin or biological life could not have come about naturally. The burden of proof is…on the supernaturalist to demonstrate that something from outside nature must be introduced to explain the data." Has Science Found God? Vic Stenger |
"Faith in the supernatural is a desperate wager made by man at the lowest ebb of his fortunes." Little Essays, No. 108, "Supernaturalism," by George Santayana |
"On 1 April 1997 a statue in the community of the Franciscan Sisters in Gebegamey in Benin, Africa, began weeping tears of blood. Vincent Metonnou, a journalist for the weekly Le Forum wonders why there are now so many similar 'signs of sorrow' appearing all over the world…He concluded that the Son of Man is probably saddened by mankind's villainy." (Source: Le Forum, Benin) http://www.mcn.org/1/Miracles/weeparchive.htm |
"Since the belief in magic is very old and held a great power over the minds and imagination of earlier generations long before the concept of experimental science, some historians of magic think the supernatural is a surviving form of magic. In the human quest for understanding and survival, magic may be seen as a complement to science. Both science and magic stem from the human imagination, observation and contemplation; but, whereas science requires time, resources, curiosity and flexibility, magic provides an immediate solution, more appealing to the unscientific mind, and requiring few or no resources." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural |
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